Parental Guidance Is Advised
by WordsHaveMelodies
Summary: #QuinntanaWeek14 Meet The Parents.


**AN: Almost didn't find the time to write this and please forgive any mistakes. I did it during Math class.**

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**Chapter 1 – Parental Guidance Is Advised**

Your parents sucked and you'd told Santana exactly why a couple months before when she'd asked about them. You'd never get to introduce her to your dad because he wasn't in your life anymore and you wouldn't wish the drunken craziness that was your mother upon even your worst enemy, so that meant that she was pretty much safe as far as parental approvals go. It's not like you would've cared if they gave their approval either way because you were in love with her and that was all that mattered but still, it would've been nice to have.

Her parents were different though. She and her mom were super close and although her and her dad weren't, he still pretty much gave her whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted. You'd been together for almost 10 months and even though you'd spoken to her cousins and even to her uncle that one time, you still hadn't got to meet or talk to her parents yet and she hadn't mentioned it either. You wondered if she thought that you weren't worth introducing them to.

"_**Hey Santana," her throat making a hmmm sound while her eyes stayed focused on her textbook, "Can I ask you something?"**_

"_**Sure," she says glancing at you briefly before going back to her notes, "Unless it's something sexual. You're gonna have to wait until I've at least memorized this riveting chapter on brain function for that."**_

"_**No it's not something sexual," you say sitting up and closing your notebook, "It's something technically personal actually."**_

_**She stops looking at the textbook then.**_

"_**Sounds serious," the pen nestled between her teeth when she sits up and runs a careless hand through her hair slightly making you rethink this whole 'not sexual' question thing, "What do you want to know?"**_

"_**Have you ever introduced anyone to your parents?" the pen you once envied hitting the book on your bed with a thud, "I only ask because-"**_

"_**You want to meet my parents?" her lips quirking in amusement, "Why? My expertly done marks of approval no longer good enough for you?"**_

"_**Your vanity isn't nearly as amusing as you would think Lopez," her smug retort of 'uh huh' paired with another careless hand through her hair, "And I never said that I wanted to meet them, I just asked if anyone ever had."**_

"_**Does it matter?"**_

"_**Yes, Santana. Yes it does."**_

"_**Why?" she asks with a shrug, "It's not really that big of a deal if you ask me."**_

"_**Maybe," of course it was a big deal! "But I still want to know."**_

"_**Fine," she says through a sigh, "Yes, I have introduced someone to my parents before."**_

"_**I see."**_

"_**No, uh huh you do not get to do that Fabray."**_

"_**Do what?"**_

"_**Get irrationally mad at me for that."**_

"_**I'm not mad and when I am it's never irrational."**_

"_**Oh please, you're the queen of irrationality."**_

"_**And you're the queen of taking things out of context," you say ignoring her protests, "I'm not mad."**_

"_**Oh yeah? Then why are your arms folded and your eyes burning holes into my head?" and you roll your eyes because you don't have an even remotely logical response, "Seriously Q it wasn't that big of a deal. It wasn't even like a planned thing or anything, it just sort of happened and it was weird."**_

_**You'd never admit it but the fact that it wasn't planned did make you feel a whole lot better.**_

"_**Look," her hands pulling yours away from your chest and tangling your fingers together, "When the time is right I'll let you meet my parents ok? I'll actually plan it out and everything if it's really that much of a big thing to you."**_

"_**That's the thing Santana, I don't want you to just do it for me," her head tilting to the left, "I want you to do it because you want to, because you think that I'm worth it. Do you think that I'm worth it?"**_

"_**Of course I think you're worth it," and she looks at you like you're crazy, "Why would you think that I didn't?"**_

"_**I don't know," your eyes focused on your still entangled hands, "Maybe because we've been together for like 10 months and you've never once mentioned it."**_

"_**That doesn't mean that I haven't been thinking about it," a smile coming to her face at the surprise on yours, "There's never been anyone that I've actually wanted to meet my parents more than I want them to meet you. I just want it to be perfect is all."**_

"_**Really?"**_

"_**Really," and you accept her unspoken kiss request meeting her halfway, "but now that we've got the personal questions out of the way," her eyes taking on a playful gleam, "I'm more than ready for something sexual."**_

You had refrained from bringing it up after that and she hadn't either. You wanted to but you decided to just sit back and let her do it in her own time, which just so happened to be exactly one month afterwards during a leisurely stroll hand in hand through central park.

"_**What do you want to do this weekend?"**_

"_**I thought we were going to see the new exhibit at the MET this weekend?" you respond as you follow her lead towards the bench, "You don't even like art but you've been looking forward to it more than I have."**_

"_**I was looking forward to it because you were looking forward to it," her other hand reaching into her study bag to pull out an envelope, "But I know that you've been looking forward to this even more so here."**_

_**You take the expensive looking envelope from her hands before taking a seat on the bench. It's addressed to you and your name's written all fancy in black with a calligraphy pen.**_

"_**What is this?" you ask turning it over in your hands, "And why is it so heavy?"**_

"_**It's heavy because apparently regular old cards and words that aren't written all fancy like just won't do for a Lopez invitation," her head shaking in annoyance or possibly amusement, you weren't sure, "It's from my parents."**_

"_**Your parents?" the envelope suddenly feeling a lot heavier, "You're kidding?"**_

"_**You wanted to meet them right?" she says with a shrug, "I told them and my dad's in New York for a work thing this entire weekend so we'll be having dinner with them both on Friday."**_

"_**Why the invitation then?" your eyes locked on the card that you had still yet to open.**_

"_**It's her new hobby," she adds through another shrug before placing a kiss to your cheek, "Tomorrow I'm taking you shopping."**_

Tonight was the night that you were meeting Santana's parents for the first time and you were no closer now to being all Zen about it like she was than you were two days ago.

"Quinn baby what are you doing?" she asks trying to stifle a laugh, "Are you seriously praying right now?"

"Don't laugh," you respond sitting on the edge of the bed where you'd just been on your knees, "Praying helps."

"Yes it does," her smile one of unbridled amusement, "So what advice did Jesus give?"

And you smack her lightly on the arm because now wasn't the time.

"Ow! I was kidding," she says with a laugh, gingerly rubbing the spot on her arm before holding out her hand to you, "They'll love you so stop worrying so much and you'll be fine."

"Are you sure because I mean-"

"Yes I'm sure," her hands slipping around your waist, "You're fine, we're fine, they're fine, it's all fine."

"Kiss for good luck?"

And she rolls her eyes before doing exactly that.

.

"Table for Lopez," Santana says to the hostess as you enter the Ritz Carlton dining room, "They should be here already."

"Yes they are," and Santana takes your hand in hers when she feels you shift beside her, "Right this way."

"I don't think you should be trying to start a fight with the hostess right before you meet my parents," Santana whispers as you walk through the dining room, "Imagine what Jesus would say."

"Haha very funny," you whisper back as you entered into what looked like a super private area, there were literally only a handful of tables in here, "And I wasn't going to fight with her, I was merely just going to politely ask her to remove her eyes from your cleavage."

"You said the same thing about the girl from Starbucks if I remember correctly," the smile evident in her voice, "Now thanks to you we've been banned from there for life."

"Their coffee sucks anyway."

"I thought you liked that?" She whispers directly into your ear and you almost trip on your own feet trying to pretend like you weren't suddenly harboring thoughts of abandoning dinner.

"Santana!" your eyes immediately drawn to the woman with the long dark hair and warm chocolate eyes who looked so much like the girl who was embracing her, "Mi carino, te echo de menos mucho."

"I missed you too," she says placing kisses to both of her cheeks before turning her attention to the man standing beside her, "Papi. Haven't seen you in awhile."

"Santana we've been through this," his jaw tenses exactly like you've seen hers do more than a few times before he audibly sighs and hugs her to him, "I miss you to."

You can't help the smile that comes to your face at the sight of the strongest girl you know turning to complete mush in her fathers' arms. He hadn't been around much when she was growing up due to his crazy doctor schedule but for as much as she denied that she missed him, you know that she did.

"Santana where are your manners?" two steps to his right bringing him directly in front of you, his eyes dark and unreadable just like hers could sometimes be, "You must be the Quinn that we've heard so much about."

"I was going to introduce her before you started slobbering all over me," she says appearing beside you, "Please refrain from doing the same to her."

"Watch your mouth mija," his eyes narrow even further, "Don't take that tone with me."

"We've been reunited for less than 5 minutes and already with the fighting," her mother says hitting them both lightly on the arm before turning her attention to you, "It's nice to finally meet you Quinn and please pay no attention to them. Apparently they didn't care to read my 'be on your best behaviour' memo."

"I have work in two hours," Santana's quiet retort of 'of course you do' going unnoticed by no one, "Can we get this show on the road please?"

"Do you really have to go?" Santana asks in the quietest voice that you've ever heard, "I thought tonight would be just us?"

"I got called in-"

"You always get called in," her voice slightly higher, "Something is always more important than family time."

"Santana-"

"No don't Santana me-"

"Santana!" and even you flinch at the tone of his voice, "We will not do this here or now, entiendes?"

"Si papi," she responds after awhile, "I understand."

You take your seats then, quietly. She's sitting next to you, with her mother in front of her and her father in front of you and the tension's so thick that it's hard to breathe.

"So Quinn," he begins after the waiter leaves with your orders, "I've heard that you're into art."

"Yes, yes I am," you respond under his steady gaze, "I draw and I take pictures to."

"Is an artist what you want to be?" his arms folding over his chest while he regards you, "Or is it just a hobby?"

"It's what I want to be," you answer honestly, "I've loved art for as long as I can remember and I don't really see myself being anything else."

"Are you any good?" her mother asks.

"She's more than good," Santana answers for you, "She wins the school art competitions all the time."

"I'm sure your parents are very proud."

"Like you would know anything about that." Santana bites in his direction but her mothers' hand on his bicep stops his retort.

"Santana," her mother admonishes, "Cut it out."

"May I be excused?" her chair already pushed back, "I need a moment."

"God dammit Alejandro," her mother getting up from her seat to follow her, "Must we end it like this every time?"

She leaves then and you're tempted to follow but you decide to stay seated instead.

"When she was a baby I promised myself that I would do anything for her, that I would do anything to make her happy," he says after awhile, "I work my ass off to make sure that she has everything that she needs and what does it get me? She hates me that's what."

"She doesn't hate you." you hazard to say.

"Then why does she always get so crazy when I'm around?" the frustration apparent in his eyes, "Help me understand because I've tried to but I don't."

"She doesn't care about the material things. She appreciates them and she loves them because they're gifts from you but she'd rather have you over stuff any day," you answer with a shrug, "She just wants you to be around more."

"Thank you Quinn," you see the realization dawn behind his eyes and when he smiles you know where she got it from, "Would you be willing to help me with something?"

.

"I can't believe that I thought tonight would be any different," Santana says as you walk hand in hand down the street that led to her apartment, "I mean how stupid was I to think that he'd ever choose me over work."

The rest of dinner had been uneventful. He'd been completely quiet for the most part and she'd been woefully subdued. Her mother liked you though and she had told you that much when you hugged her goodbye a few hours ago. It wasn't exactly how you pictured meeting them going but at least you'd met them.

"He loves you though," her scoff coming as predicted, "Really he does. He just wants you to be happy."

"You sound like my mother," she says as you walk into the building, "Who thinks you're a godsend by the way."

"That's because I am," her lips quirking in amusement, "But now I must bid you adieu."

"What? Why?" her smile turning to a pout, "I thought you were spending the weekend? Who's going to cuddle with me tonight?"

"Jesus is," you say placing a chaste kiss to her lips, "I'll see you tomorrow though ok?"

"Don't count on it blondie."

"I love you too."

She was going to kill you when she walked into her apartment and found him waiting there for her but it needed to be done. Maybe you were a sucker for fairy tale endings or maybe it was because you'd probably be willing to fix your relationship with your dad if it ever came down to it but they needed to talk, not yell and you were happy to help. You just wanted to see her happy to.

.

"Quinn!" she shouts as soon as she enters your apartment the next day, "We need to talk."

"Bedroom!" you shout back.

If you were going to die, you wanted to do it in your safe place.

She walks in, drops her bag on the floor and props herself against the wall.

"I already know what you're going to say and I'm sorry," you begin before she can start yelling, "It's just that he-"

"I'm not mad."

"I know you're going to... wait what?" her words finally catching up to your brain, "You're not mad?"

"Nope," she says shrugging off her jacket and kicking off her shoes, "I actually came over here to say thank you actually."

"Really?" your eyebrow rising in skepticism, "Where's your dad?"

"Mingling with New York's elite," her body now laying across your bed with her head on your chest, "He said to tell you 'thank you' by the way."

"So I'm guessing it went well?" your hand playing with her hair.

"After the initial shock wore off which I mean, thank you for the warning princess," she says glaring at you without any real power behind it, "We talked about a lot of stuff, like actually talked and he told me what you said to him. Every thing's not fixed but he gets it now and I owe it all to you."

"No you don't."

"Yes, Yes I do," she says rolling off of you to prop herself up on her elbows, "He never would have understood if it wasn't for you taking the time to explain it to him."

"So you're really not going to kill me?" you ask just for fun and you're rewarded with her laughter and then a blinding smile.

"Nope. I have something way better than death in mind."

There's a moment that follows hours afterwards when you awake naked, sated and wrapped around her sleeping so soundly next to you and it's in that moment that you realize that there was nothing at all better than being alive.


End file.
